How to check a financial advisor's background
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
This is the cheapest due diligence available in finance, and the overwhelming majority of people hiring an adviser never do it.
The two databases
FINRA BrokerCheck covers brokers and brokerage firms, including registration, exams and disclosures.
The SEC's investment adviser search at adviserinfo.sec.gov covers advisers and publishes their Form ADV.
Many people appear in both because they are dually registered, and the two records can contain different information.
What the records contain
Registration status, the states and firms they are registered with, and how long they have been in the industry.
Employment history, which shows how frequently somebody has moved and whether any departure was reported as a termination.
Disclosure events: customer disputes, regulatory actions, criminal matters, bankruptcies and liens.
How to read a disclosure
A single complaint from twenty years ago, denied and closed, is different from a pattern of recent settled disputes.
Read what the allegation was, what the outcome was, and whether anything was paid.
Concentration in one product type, such as complaints all involving the same category of investment, is more informative than the raw count.
Try it in Walnut
Walnut connects to your brokerage and analyses what you hold. It is analysis rather than advice, and it does not replace a licensed adviser.
Read the Form ADV Part 2
It is written in plain language by requirement, and it states services, fees, conflicts and disciplinary history.
The fee section tells you exactly how the firm is compensated, including anything received from third parties.
The conflicts section is the one most worth reading slowly, because it describes the incentives operating on the advice you will receive.
Certifications
Recognised designations have education requirements, examinations, continuing education and a disciplinary process.
The issuing body maintains a verification tool, so a claimed designation can be confirmed rather than assumed.
Impressive-sounding titles that cannot be verified anywhere are titles rather than qualifications, and the distinction is checkable.
The check that matters most
If somebody soliciting your money appears in neither database, stop there.
Anyone advising on securities or selling them for compensation is generally required to be registered.
Frauds are frequently identifiable by this one absence, and it is the reason the databases exist and are free.
Beyond the databases
State securities regulators maintain their own records, and a state can hold information the federal databases do not.
For insurance products, the state insurance department is the equivalent regulator, and agents selling annuities appear there rather than in BrokerCheck.
A simple search of the person's name alongside the firm's occasionally surfaces enforcement news that predates or postdates the formal record.
Sources
Broker records are published at FINRA BrokerCheck and adviser records with Form ADV at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Guidance on checking a professional's background is published by the SEC at investor.gov. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. This guide is educational and not personalized investment advice.
FAQ
Where do I check an advisor's background?
+
FINRA BrokerCheck for brokers and adviserinfo.sec.gov for investment advisers. Both are free, both cover registration and disciplinary history, and searching by name takes under a minute.
What will I see?
+
Registration status and where they are licensed, employment history, examinations passed, and any disclosure events including customer complaints, regulatory actions, terminations, bankruptcies and criminal matters.
Is a disclosure event disqualifying?
+
Not automatically. Large firms accumulate complaints and some are resolved in the representative's favour. Reading what each one was about is far more informative than counting them.
What if I cannot find them at all?
+
That is the answer. Anyone giving investment advice or selling securities for compensation is generally required to be registered somewhere, and an absence from both databases while soliciting your money is a serious warning.
What is Form ADV?
+
The registration document an investment adviser files. Part 2 is written in plain language and states services, fee structure, conflicts of interest and disciplinary history, which makes it the most useful single document about a firm.
Do certifications matter?
+
Some do and many are marketing. Recognised designations have education requirements, examinations and a disciplinary process, which can be verified with the issuing body. Titles that cannot be verified anywhere are titles rather than qualifications.
Should I check the firm as well as the person?
+
Yes. The individual and the firm each have their own record, and a clean individual at a firm with a pattern of regulatory actions is worth understanding before signing anything.
How often should I re-check?
+
At the outset and occasionally afterwards, particularly if the person changes firms. Records are updated as events are reported, so a check made years ago is not a check made now.
Are there other places to look?
+
State securities regulators keep their own records and can hold information the federal databases do not. Insurance agents selling annuities appear with the state insurance department rather than in BrokerCheck, which is worth knowing if the product being recommended is an annuity.
Should I check the firm too?
+
Yes. The individual and the firm each carry their own record, and a clean individual at a firm with a pattern of regulatory actions is a situation worth understanding before signing anything.
What if the record shows an old bankruptcy?
+
It is disclosed because the rules require it rather than because it decides anything. A personal bankruptcy a decade ago tells you little about advice today. A pattern of recent financial difficulty alongside customer disputes about unsuitable products is a different picture, and the value of the record is that you can see which one you are looking at.